UN Sustainable Development Goal Training Seminar

A little while ago I heard about a United Nations Sustainable Development goal training seminar at my school. These trainings are by an organization called FES (Foundation for Environmental Stewardship) and they are doing them across Canada to educate people about the SDG’s (Sustainable Development Goals). Unfortunately by the time I found out about it all the tickets were sold out! A week or so later I heard that they needed 5 volunteers and I jumped at the opportunity to participate.

Turns out the volunteering was to be done in the weeks before to prep for it, at the beginning of the event, at the end of the event and once the event was over. Which meant we were allowed to fully participate in the training and get a certificate like everyone else that completed it.

Volunteering gave me a unique look on how much work really goes into an event like this and how organized you need to be to make it work. The behind the scenes at the beginning of the event was a bit hectic but once I got to sit down and listen to the speakers and network with other people who attended I got to think about some very interesting things.

1. What are the SDG’s? They are a group of goals that the UN members committed to achieving by the year 2031. Here is a picture of the goals

2. What goal is most important to me? All the speakers talked about what goal is most important to them and I thought to myself how it is hard for me to think of one specific goal that is the most important. I think all of the goals are really important and in a way they are interconnected. For example you can’t have zero hunger if there is poverty. You can’t have Climate action without Affordable and clean energy. The list goes on.

If I was forced to choose one that is important to me(like I said we need action on all of these this is just one that has personal meaning for me) , It would be #10 reduced inequalities. This one really captures most of the goals. If we reduce inequalities than that means reducing climate impact on some people, it means not having anyone rich while others are poor, it means gender equality and more peace and justice. In short it means a lot of things. Everyone deserves equal right and every step in that direction can have multiple ripples of good in many different areas that are not always clear at first.

3.We all need to get involved. These goals are huge and we can’t do it without working together. As one of the speakers said it’s about partnerships. We have to get people with a bunch of different expertise to work together to make this possible.

We need a powered crowd geared towards positive change!

So my question to you is what goal or positive change goal is important to you? Let me know in the comment or on social media which is all linked above!